VEHICLE parts makers urged the government anew to outline meaningful incentives under the yet-to-be-released Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) for local parts makers to enable them to compete globally.
In a statement, the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP) reiterated that for parts manufacturing in the Philippines to thrive, support must be given through the CARS Program.
The automotive road map spells out the fiscal and nonfiscal perks for auto players.
“Government support inclusive of fiscal and nonfiscal incentives is the main ingredient to spur the local auto-parts industry…but the support must also be extended to the OE [original equipment] assemblers to encourage them to locally assemble more new models or expand production capacities for models that already assemble locally. It is academic that whenever there is growth in local vehicle CKD [completely knocked down] assembly, parts makers ultimately benefit from it,” MVPMAP President Ferdinand Raquelsantos said in a statement.
These incentives will push local parts makers to take on better capabilities and technologies, which, in turn, make them more attractive for foreign businesses looking for partners here.
In a press statement, the MVPMAP said that for the local auto parts-manufacturing industry to survive, they need the joint ventures and technical agreements that foreign partners can provide.
Raquelsantos said that, with the Philippines hosting the Asia Pacific Automotive Dialogue, the opportunity is at hand to showcase the local auto industry’s capabilities.
Part of the objective of this regional dialogue, he said, is to identify roadblocks to the efforts of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be part of the global value chain and ultimately become a Tier-1 supplier.
“This early, government support in terms of providing industry incentives that would bring local SMEs at par with their competitors in the region is seen to be very critical and will play a major role in determining if we make it or not,” Raquelsantos added.